Steam iron having suction drain means



:Dec. 10, 1968 KIYOSHI NAOM OTO 3 STEAM IRON HAVING SUCTION DRAIN MEANSFiled Dec. 12, 1966 Fig.2

United States Patent 3,414,993 STEAM IRON HAVING SUCTION DRAIN MEANSKiyoslii Naomoto, 2, 3-bancho, Kouzu, Minami-ku, Osaka, Japan Filed Dec.12, 1966, Ser. No. 601,086 Claims priority, application Japan, May 21,1966, 41/ 48,361 2 Claims. (Cl. 38-77) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Asteam iron with a suction drain means. The iron has a hollow body with asteam chamber therein, the base plate of the body having steam jetorifices therein. The body has a suction pipe with one end extendinginto the steam chamber and the other end protruding outside of the body,the suction pipe having a drain valve therein. There is a steam hole inthe end of the suction pipe and inside the chamber positioned close toand above the rear end of the surface of the base plate.

This invention relates to an improvement in a steam iron. The steam ironreferred to in this invention is of the type in which steam is blowninto the hollow body of the iron, thereby heating the body, and the saidsteam is made to spurt through the jet orifice provided in the baseplate of the body. The aim of this invention is to drain the water whichis produced inside the body of the iron of the above-mentioned type.

Since steam fills the hollow body of the steam iron, as mentioned above,part of the said steam, reverting to water, stays inside the body, andsuch remaining yvater runs forward and backward according to themovement of the body. In other words, when the iron is quickly movedforward, the water inside the body flows backward, while it runs towardthe head of the body when the body suddenly stops or moves backward.

In this invention a drain valve is provided on a part of the main bodyof the iron, a suction hole being provided at the lower end of a suctionpipe connected to the said valve being placed adjacent the upper surfaceof the base plate. In order to drain the water inside the body as muchas possible, it is advisable to position the suction hole as close aspossible to either the front end or the rear end of the base plate. Thedetails of this invention will be made clear by means of the attacheddrawing and the explanation thereof, in which;

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the steam iron of thisinvention; FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof.

In the figures, the numeral 1 designates the hollow body of the iron,the inside of which has a steam chamber 2, and 3 designates the baseplate thereof.

A steam feeding pipe 5 is provided on the rear wall 4 of the body 1, theorifice 6 at the inner end of the said pipe 5 opening into the steamchamber 2. The numeral 7 designates an adjustable valve box provided onthe rear part of the top wall 12 of the body 1, the upper end of thevalve 8 threaded into the said valve box 7 protruding upward from thevalve box 7, and a handle 9 is fixed to the said upper end.

In the bottom of the recess 16 in the top wall 12 of the body into whichthe valve box 7 is threaded is provided a valve hole 10 which is openedor shut by the valve 8. A suction pipe 11 leads to the valve hole 10being fixed to the lower part of the cover portion defining the valvebox recess. The terminal orifice of the said pipe 11 is within aninverted recess 13 in the under surface of the top wall 12 of the body 1at the end of the upward bend of the suction pipe 11.

Into the recess 16 which forms a valve chamber beneath said valve box 7the pipe 17 opens, the said pipe 17 being connected to a lid 18 whichcovers a number of jet orifices 14 provided in the base plate 3, thesteam passage 19 formed between the said lid 18 and the base plate 3being connected to the said valve chamber 16 by means of the pipe 17.

The numeral 21 designates a drain valve fixed to the rear wall 4, whichis opened or closed by manipulation of a handle 22, the said drain valvebeing provided in a suction pipe 24 which protrudes outward to a drainend and has a suction end which protrudes into the steam chamber 2. Atthe lower end of the said suction pipe 24 is formed a horizontallyelongated suction hole 25 opening adjacent the rear end of the surfaceof the base plate 3 and extending transversely of the fore and aft axisof the body 1.

In this iron, steam coming from the steam hose connected to the steamfeeding pipe 5 fills the steam chamber 2 through the feeding pipe 5 andthe orifice 6, thus heating the body 1.

When the valve hole 10 is opened by turning the valve 8 by means of thehandle 9, the steam inside the steam chamber 2 flows into the pipe 11from the recess 13 through the orifice 15, into the valve chamber fromthe pipe 11 by way of the valve hole 10, into the steam passage 19 fromthe valve chamber 16 by way of the pipe 17, and then spurts from the jetorifices 14.

In this state the ironing of the wearing apparel is conducted in thesame way as with an ordinary iron. However, during the operation a partof the steam turns into water and stays on the bottom of the steamchamber 2, that is, on the base plate 3. When at this juncture the drainvalve 21 is opened by turning the handle 22, the drain pipe 23 and thesuction pipe 24 are connected together and the Water on the base plate 3is sucked into the suction pipe 24 through the suction hole 25 owing tothe difference between the steam pressure inside the steam chamber andatmospheric pressure outside, and is drained through the drain pipe 23by way of the drain valve 21. Needless to say the water should bedrained into some appropriate vessel by connecting a hose to the drainpipe 23. Since the jet orifices 14 are covered with the lid 18, there isno danger of the water flowing out therethrough.

In this invention the body 1 of the iron is provided with the drain pipe21 and the water staying inside the steam chamber 2 in the body 1 isdrained from time to time by opening the said drain valve 21, takingadvantage of the steam pressure, so that there is no danger of a largeamount of Water staying inside the steam chamber 2. As a result, thereis no risk of water drops dripping from the jet orifices 14, leavingspots on the iron-finished wearing apparel. At the same time, rustcaused by the water staying inside the steam chamber can also beprevented.

Besides, if the suction hole 25 is placed above the rear end of the baseplate 3, water which moves backward when the body proceeds can be suckedup so effectively that hardly any water stays inside the steam chamber 2during the operation provided that the drain valve 21 is left open. Theeffect will be the greater because the suction hole 25 is elongatedhorizontally as shown in the drawing.

What I claim is:

1. A steam iron comprising a hollow body having therein a steam chamberto be filled with steam, said body having a base plate with at least onesteam jet orifice therein, a suction pipe having one end which extendsinto the steam chamber and having the other end protruding and openingoutside the body, a drain valve in said suction pipe which can be openedand closed freely, the suction pipe having a suction hole in the endthereof inside said chamber positioned close to and above the rear endof the surface of the base plate Within the chamber in the body.

2. A steam iron as claimed in claim 1 in which the suction hole at theend of the suction pipe is horizontally elongated and extends at rightangles with the fore and aft axis of the body.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS PATRICK D. LAWSON, PrimaryExaminer.

